Copyright Boulder Daily Camera
Boulder is safer, more equitable with Folkerts I am a Jewish Boulderite. In the small southern town where I grew up, my sister and I were the only Jews in school. We were asked by other kids if we drank the blood of Christian babies. They felt our heads to check if we had horns. Like far too many Jews worldwide, my family tree was violently shredded in the Holocaust. Now I have cousins in Israel who fear for their lives during rocket fire. No Jew is a stranger to antisemitism, from the subtle to the terrifying. And I am writing today to share how jarring it is to me to hear the label “antisemitic” associated with Boulder City Council member Lauren Folkerts. Lauren has taken two actions on Council that some are calling into question. Early in the Gaza war, she was in favor of a Council resolution calling for a ceasefire. And later, when it came to light that Boulder investments include companies profiting from war, she indicated support for considering holistically how to better align Boulder’s investment portfolio with our city values (not targeting Israel). I emphatically do not believe that having compassion for those who suffer, or wanting an end to war, are antisemitic. I too would support examining how Boulder’s investment portfolio can better align with our civic values. I deeply feel the complexities of the current context, and I know personally how insidious antisemitism can be. However, I see no antisemitism, no prejudice or animosity, no stereotyping or fear of Jews, in Lauren’s votes on these issues. Her actions are well-aligned with my Jewish values of compassion and care for all people, and the commandments to speak out against harm and pursue justice in the world. Indeed, the same can be said for the sum total of Lauren’s impact from her first term on Council, from addressing homelessness to housing and affordability to climate action to supporting Boulder’s economy. Boulder is safer, more equitable, more sustainable, and more kind with leaders like Lauren. Laura Kaplan, Boulder Vote for City Council candidates against genocide While I agree with the recent letter “Who’s pulling the strings in Boulder council races?” that foreign forces should stay out of Boulder, the author inadvertently revealed the gigantic foreign forces on her favored candidates’ side, too. The author says Democratic Socialists of America (like Bernie) and Working Families Party are “anti-business and anti-Israel.” They and most Americans are actually anti-the-genocide-business! Being “pro-Israel” for Congress, including “our” Colorado delegation, means sending some $18 billion since Oct. 7, 2023, for what all U.N. agencies and human rights orgs, the top two international courts, and many countries call genocide, and another $17 to prop up the ethnostate, including health care Americans can only dream of. It’s not as clear as with lowly nonprofits like DSA and WFA spending $1,000s, how all that $35 billion of our taxes swirls around, but it’s millions of times more powerful. I voted for the candidates who’ve shown common sense and compassion for the underdog Palestinians (by divesting the city from companies profiting from the genocide) and the underdog homeless, who need a legal, safe place, away from our parks and creeks, as was provided nationwide in the Great Depression, called Hoovervilles: Aaron Stone, Rachel Rose Isaacson, Max Lord and Rob Smoke. No, the starving, sick, homeless Palestinians are not funding them in any way. Evan Ravitz, Boulder
